KoBold Metals, a Silicon Valley company using artificial intelligence to discover major deposits of critical minerals, announced it has raised $537 million in Series C equity funding. The round, which increases KoBold’s post money valuation to $2.96 billion, was co-led by new investor Durable Capital Partners LP and by a pair of T. Rowe Price funds not yet invested. 

The financing included participation from existing KoBold investors Andreessen Horowitz Growth, BOND Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Earthshot Ventures, Equinor, July Fund, Mitsubishi and Standard Investments, as well as new investors StepStone and WCM Investment Management.

“KoBold shows how the combination of scientific excellence and AI can enable the discovery of critical metals for the global energy transition. KoBold’s team, technology, and approach to exploration position them to be the leading innovators in the mining industry for years to come,” said Henry Ellenbogen, Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer at Durable Capital Partners LP.

“KoBold's mission is to expand and diversify the global supply of critical resources essential for prosperity, energy technology, AI, and security,” said KoBold CEO Kurt House. “Partnering with this broad set of world-class investors will accelerate our progress.”

KoBold Metals will strategically allocate its new funding to fuel growth and innovation. The new investment will fund the expansion of critical mineral exploration efforts across five continents; help advance high-potential projects, like the Company’s Mingomba copper deposit in Zambia, from discovery to mineral production; and bolster cutting-edge research and development, enhancing KoBold's proprietary AI-powered exploration technology.

Demand for critical minerals like copper and lithium is accelerating, driven by the rapid growth of electric vehicles, renewable energy, data centers, and other advanced technologies. Yet, chronic underinvestment in research and development has made the mining industry far less successful, now requiring over 10 times more capital to discover ore deposits than a generation ago.

The easy to discover, near-surface deposits have largely been discovered and the industry moves too slowly in bringing new mines into production, often taking decades. Meeting demand for critical minerals requires groundbreaking methods to analyze the Earth’s subsurface and bring resources to market faster and more efficiently than ever before.